Virtual logic for virtual fences

Way back in September 2007 I noted how the virtual border fence wasn't working. The same came up in March 2008. But we're Americans, and when we fail, we want to fail big. So now we learn that Texas Gov. Rick Perry's virtual border surveillance program is a flop.

A virtual border surveillance program Gov. Rick Perry has committed millions of taxpayer dollars to fell far short of expectations during the first six months of operation.

Border sheriffs, who Perry gave $2 million to line the Texas-Mexico border with hundreds of Web cameras, installed only about a dozen and made just a handful of apprehensions as a result of tips from online viewers.

Reports obtained by the El Paso Times under the Texas Public Information Act show that the cameras produced a fraction of the objectives Perry outlined.

Is this a problem? Not according to the governor's spokesperson.

The point of the cameras, Cesinger said, is not to help police and Border Patrol make arrests or apprehensions but to deter criminals from breaking the law in the first place.

But Cesinger admitted that how much crime the cameras deter is a factor that cannot be measured.

So you spend a load of money, and then say that failure is not failure, and very likely is success, though even that is hard to measure. If the logic works for the drug war, it can work elsewhere too.